Projectile.



E. J. BONDURANT.

I PROJECTILE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3,1916. 1,218,832.

Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

Witnesses EZWMM Attorneys tended position of one of the UNITED TATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMMET J'IOILING BONDURANT, or ATHENS, GEORGIA, ASSIGN'OR To" EOR IA PLOW a, r YFOUNDRY' 00., or ATHENS, GEORGIA. I

- PRoJnoTIL Specification of Letters Patent.

, Application filed June 3,1916. Serial No. 101,596.

Toall whom it may concern Be it known that I, EMMET J. BONDU- RANT, a'citizenof the United States, residing' at Athens, in the county of Clarke and Stateof Georgia, useful Projectile, a specification.

This invention relates to a projectile particularly designed for use in cutting away entanglements of wire, and for like of which the following is urposes, one of the objects of the invention eing to provide a projectile'having combined: with it cutting elements which are normally housed but which are automati cally released while the projectile is in flight, thus to move outwardly beyond the periphery of the into engagement with and sever any wire entanglements or the like into which the projectile may be propelled.

VVith the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the com-' bination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction, hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention. -In the accompanying drawingsv the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings 1 Figure 1 is acentral longitudinal section through the projectile, the outwardly excutting blades being indicated by dotted lines.

' Fig. 2 is. an enlarged section on line AB Fig. 1. I

- Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on line C D Fig. 1.

Fig. 4: is a reduced section on line E-F Fig. 2, said section being taken through the back end of the projectile.

Referringto the figures by characters of reference 1 designates the body of the projectile and in the front portion thereof is provided a chamber 2 for holding an ex plosive indicated at 3. A percussion p1n4 extends from the nose ofthe projectile to a cap in this chamber 2.

Arranged within the back portion of the projectileis, a small chamber 5 for holding an explosive 6, there being a time fuse 7 projectile from the have mvented a new and projectile so ,as' to come around the blades 12, as soon as pin'fail to leading to this chamber from the back end of the projectile and i may be extended. along the center 'of; the chamber 5 to the chan'i her 2. I I

Formed within the peripheral portion' ofthe'projectile and between the two chambers '2 and 5 are. longitudinal slots 9. Thebacki wall of each of'theseslots has its outer. end portlon overhanging a portion of the. slot, thus to form astop 10. Pivot pins llextend transversely of the slots close-to. the front ends thereof and mountedon eachof these pins is a blade ,12 normally housed within the slots. Each bladehas an 1 out wardly. extending hook-likev portion 13 the advancing edge: of which is sharpened; lVhen the blad-es are in their normallposi tions, these hook-like portions are housed, within the. slots and-the blades are. held another time fuse 8 against movement relative to the projectile by a restraining band 14. which extends pro ctiIe andhas its outer face flush with the surface of. the projectile;

Extending from the chamber 5 are vent.

openings or passages l5 the o'uter ends ;of which are located directly'back of the band 14 as shown particularly in F 4.-

Vhen the fuse 7 will be ignited and after a short flight the explosive in the compartment 5' will be ignited. The expansion of'the gases. will result in their rupturing the' band. 14' which will thus be thrown offof the. pro.- jectile, thereby releasing the blades 12. As the projectile is rotated rapidly: whilein flight, due to the rifling of the cannon, the released from the re straining action of the. band 14, will be swung outwardly by centrifugal force until the free ends of the blades come aga-instthe stops 10. The blades will be held in their. outwardly extended positions, the hooks 13 projecting beyond the periphery of the bodyof the projectile, as shown by dotted lines in The shell is designed toexplode oncontact" with the ground, but should thepercussion I act, the time fuse 8 will ultimately. cause the shell to explode.

Instead of having thepassages 15;;l adIto the restraining band 14, as shown in Fig. 4,

theycan be extended through theinner walls of the slots 9at points remote from the pivots by the band, and a time fuse leading to the 11 so that, when the charge 6 is exploded, the force of the explosion will be directed against the inner faces of the blades 12 with the result that said blades will be thrown outwardly thereby breaking their restraining bands and overcoming any tendency to remain seated in the slots as, for example, when the projectile is traveling a long distance.

Furthermore, if desired, the blades 12 can be pivotally mounted at their rear ends instead of their front ends or, in other words,

can be reversed from the positions illustrated in Fig. 1. These modified construetions are so obvious that it is not deemed necessary to describe or illustrate them in detail.

What is claimed is 1. The combination with a projectile body, of members pivotally mounted in the body and adapted to swing outwardly therefrom in planes radiating from the body, a restraining means extending around the body and members to hold said members housed within the body, an explosive charge for removing the restraining means from the body to release the members, and a time element for igniting the charge.

2. A projectile having a longitudinal slot, a member pivotally mounted within the slot and adapted to be projected therebeyond by centrifugal force during the rotation of the projectile, a band encircling the projectile and holding said member within the slot, an explosive within the projectile, there being a vent leading therefrom and normally sealed explosive.

3. A projectile having a longitudinal slot, a member pivotally mounted within the slot and adapted to be projected therebeyond by centrifugal force during the rotation of the projectile, a band encircling the pro-' jectile and holding said member within the slot, an explosive within the projectile, there being a vent leading therefrom and normally sealed by the band, a time fuse leading to the explosive, a second explosive charge con.- tained within the project1le,a time fuse connecting the same to the first named explosive, and a percussion pin leading to said explosive charge. r 4. The combination with a projectile body having radial longitudinal slots, of blades pivotally mounted in the respective slots, outstanding cutting hooksupon the blades and normally housed in the slots, :1 band encircling the projectile and constituting means for holding the hooks and blades within the slots, timed means for removing the band and releasing the blades,said means including an explosive charge within the projectile, there being a vent leading therefrom and sealed by the band, and a time fuse leading to said charge.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

EMMET JOPLING BONDURANI'.

Witnesses H. C. LANDRUM, C. H. DODSON. 

